Scan barcode
cimorene1558's review against another edition
3.0
One of my least favourite of the older Robert Barnard's, but still very funny and worth reading occasionally, although it sees rather unfair to Australia, which I'm sure is a nicer place than this makes it sound!
books_are_nice_and_enjoyable's review
slow-paced
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This is not really a murder mystery. The setting and the characters completely dominate the narrative. It's a great book. The ending surprised me, even though it shouldn't have, and that's part of why it's almost at five stars.
A very enjoyable book.
A very enjoyable book.
bev_reads_mysteries's review against another edition
4.0
Can't resist an academic mystery...and in the hands of Robert Barnard, this one shines.
jonjeffryes's review
5.0
I haven't enjoyed a mystery this much in a long time. A party for an Oxford professor visiting a remote Australian university ends in murder. Barnard excels and making distinct and memorable characters of all the suspects with a minimum of words (the entire book clocks in under 200 pages). Filled with great Australian detail (even if Barnard himself didn't seem to care much for the place). The book racial politics date it (especially in regard to its treatment of Aboriginal people) -- but other than that I loved its skewering of a University English department and I laughed out loud multiple times. The book's final sentences give a twist that is both shocking and darkly hilarious.
stanl's review
2.0
Recommended by a published mystery author, I couldn't warm up to his traditional approach.
More...